Hong Kong: Beyond the Skyscrapers, Kim Yau, Graphic Design

When Hong Kong comes to mind, many people think of skyscrapers and towering buildings. Amongst skyscrapers, delving more into the lesser known and everyday life of the city is what Kim Yau, creator of the Beyond Skyscrapers HK guidebook is trying to promote.

With a colour scheme of red and white, with red not only being a nod to the colours of Hakka women’s wedding bands, but also the red and white on the Hong Kong flag, as well as red being an auspicious colour in Chinese culture.

Kim Yau paints a vibrant picture of Hong Kong, giving cultural tips and food recommendations, all linked to a map of Hong Kong and the locations.

To get the overall shape and style of the keys, Yau traced over the Hakka wedding bands, echoing its geometric patterns. Each symbol shows different part of Hong Kong, including shopping, food, transport and culture.

The logo is reminiscent of skyscrapers before moving downward, mirroring the typography of Hong Kong itself, and the acronym commonly used to refer to Hong Kong.

The guidebook is shown alongside postcards showing the locations and Octopus Cards (Hong Kong’s public transit cards) showing the tile wedding band art style of Hong Kong’s national flower.

There are also designs of posters, highlighting the skyscrapers as well as the natural landscapes of HK, while a flowing tile band links them all together, further evoking the fluidity of the cloth wedding bands.

It is clear her work comes from extensive thought and research into her topic, as well as a deep knowledge and care of Hong Kong itself.

You can view more of Kim’s work at https://kimyaudesigns.framer.website/ and her Beyond the Skyscrapers project can be found at https://hongkongbeyondtheskyscrapers.framer.website/